When looking around the association's website, I stumbled upon the position order for two forms I haven't encountered before: a 13 movement hand form, and a 16 movement hand form. What is the history of their development, and for what purpose did the association create them?

From what I recall, the 13-movement form was created at the request of enthusiasts and/or the Chinese government so that there would be a form to practice for those that had difficulty memorizing or practicing the traditional form. You will note for instance, that the form contains no kicks or one-legged postures. I don't think it was just the Yang family that was asked to do this, but all the main Tai Chi families. Maybe someone else can confirm or correct this.

I think the 16-movement forms were created so that there would be a form that could be taught within a single academic term, teaching one posture per week. At the Tai Chi symposium on Nashville in 2011, each of the five traditional families taught their 16-movement form to give participants a taste of their flavor of Tai Chi.

At the moment, I do not think that either of these forms has a formal place within the Association curriculum, however, they are still taught from time to time and are resource for those who find them useful. Some teachers also use these forms as introductions to Tai Chi and teach them before the traditional forms. I personally used to use them when I had little time to practice, but wanted the psychological satisfaction of doing a complete form.

I have no knowledge about Association forms, or the 16-movement form, but I do think that Audi may be correct about the 13. If I recall correctly, sometime in the late 90s the various styles of Taijiquan developed introductory 13-posture forms. As I did not really have any interest in learning introductory short forms, I did not pay too much attention when I heard about them. If I remember correctly, they were intended to simply give a brief introduction to the flavor of the various styles so that potentially interested individuals could decide if they wanted to study longer versions of those styles.

Hi: In issue #13, Spring 2004 of the association journal, Jeremy Blodgett interviewed Yang Zhen Duo. He explained that the 5 families met for a forum in November 2003 in Guangzhou. They decided to change from the 13 form and create a 16 movement form to be used in technical schools,colleges, and universities. Students would be able to choose which style to study. A demonstration of the 13 movement form can be seen here: